Tell er-Rameh


Tell er-Rameh or Tall el-Rama is a small mound in Jordan rising in the plain east of the River Jordan, about twelve miles from Jericho. It presently has a Muslim cemetery on the acropolis that prevents it from being excavated. It has been identified as the location of Livias, but recent work has led to the theory that Tell er-Rameh was the commercial and residential centre of Livias, while the administrative centre was located at Tall el-Hammam.

Etymology

According to Vailhé and Abel the modern name er-Rameh may have derived from the ancient names of Βηθαραμθα, which is what Josephus indicates was the name for Livias. Dvorjetski believes that the modern name er-Rameh is derived from Wadi er-Rameh.

Identification

states that:
"the equation of Beth-haram, Beth-ramtha, Beit er-Ram, Beit Ramah, Tell er-Rameh with Livias,... is undoubtedly correct. It does not prove, however, that Tell er-Rameh is to be identified with the actual site of ancient Biblical Beth-haram... An examination of the pottery of Tall er-Rameh proves that this identification cannot possibly be correct"
Graves and Stripling add that, while Tell er-Rameh was the commercial and residential centre of Livias, the administrative centre was situated at nearby Tall el-Hammam. Tall er-Rama had no natural water source, and some have argued that it received its water from the hot springs at Tall el-Hammam.
Dvorjetski identified Tell er-Rameh with Livias based on the presence of "pottery or mosaic stone cubes from the Byzantine and early Islamic eras."